Doc Holloway writes:
>Interesting thoughts. I guess, I've almost always considered external
>attempts to motivate me as "manipulation, control, intimidation,
>coercion, management." Information is meaningless until I attach values
>and mental models to it. Information only motivates me internally--for
>instance, if I see someone running down the street with a weapon (gun), I
>now have information. Depending on my training, situation, mental
>models, etc., I will respond a certain way. A law enforcement officer
>might respond different than a person who is guiding a child by the hand.
>The observation was the same, the reaction internally motivated.
Doc,
I certainly share your feelings about external attempts to motivate me. I
am less certain about your point of information being meaningless until we
attach values and mental models to it. Chris Argyris' model, the Ladder
of Inference, seems to demonstrate that information is most meaningless
when we do add our own beliefs, assumptions, mental models. Meaning to me
has no value unless it is shared meaning. Meaning is unlikely to be
shared if we operate too high on the Ladder. So the paradox is that
"Information is meaningless until I attach values and mental models", but
there cannot be efficient shared meaning unless I walk down the Ladder and
start the sharing at observable data.
Mike....
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| Michael A. Gort |
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--"Michael A. Gort" <mail18081@pop.net>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>